| https://thefintechtimes.com/retailers-accepting-crypto-payments-would-drive-digital-currency-adoption-finds-paysafe/ |
The attitude towards decentralised finance and cryptocurrency has been evolving at a fast pace, with many beginning to view crypto as a viable form of currency, not just an investment. Inside the Crypto Community: Plotting the Journey to Mass Adoption was published by Paysafe, a specialised payments platform, and found that 55 per cent of crypto owners – rising to 60 per cent of 18-24 year olds – would rather get paid their salary in cryptocurrency.
The top reasons for this include people seeing cryptocurrencies as a smart investment, believing that they’ll likely get paid in it soon anyway, and greater financial flexibility.
Over half (54 per cent) of crypto owners agree that cryptocurrency is the future of finance and will take over as the dominant form of international currency. This was also the primary motivation for owning crypto in the first place, ahead of making money from trading or investing. However, the research suggests this conclusion has come through careful consideration – and that crypto owners have had concerns along the way. In fact, 70 per cent of people admitted to having doubts about investing in crypto at some point since they started trading, with nearly half (49 per cent) of all crypto owners having cashed out either some or all of their cryptocurrency assets at some point as a result.
According to crypto owners, payments hold the key to mass crypto adoption. The top reason for not wanting to be paid in cryptocurrency is that it can’t be used to make payments widely enough at present (24 per cent). Additionally, 22 per cent of all crypto owners said they would invest more in crypto if more retailers accepted it as a form of payment, and 17 per cent said the same if more countries accepted cryptocurrencies as legal tender. Overall, 59 per cent of respondents agree that the lack of real-world applications for cryptocurrencies, such as payments, is currently preventing crypto from reaching its full potential.
Despite some of these potential stumbling blocks, crypto owners are optimistic about the timeline to widespread adoption. Over half (60 per cent) agree that you’ll be able to use crypto to make online purchases with many more online retailers this time next year, while 47 per cent agree that accepting cryptocurrencies in physical stores will become commonplace within the next 12 months. Finally, nearly half of crypto owners (49 per cent) believe that everyone will own cryptocurrency within the next five years.
Commenting on the findings, Chirag Patel, CEO, Digital Wallets at Paysafe, said: “Interest in defi and the metaverse has reached a whole new level recently and, with that, positive sentiment towards cryptocurrencies continues to increase. However, it’s clear that many people are still crying out for more practical use cases to bring crypto into the real world – in particular, being able to use it as a payment method, and this is something we are committed to driving at Paysafe. People can interact with cryptocurrencies through our digital wallets, Skrill and NETELLER, whether that’s for the very first time or as a more seasoned investor.”
| https://thefintechtimes.com/retailers-accepting-crypto-payments-would-drive-digital-currency-adoption-finds-paysafe/ |